Portable Guitar Amps

Features 7/10 It's a small, 3-watt, solid-state amp full of digital effects for home use. It can be battery or mains powered, you can connect an MP3 player to it, as well as headphones... Use 8/10 Hyper simple dialing, everything is written on the buttons, you turn, adjust and listen. You can play anything with it, except maybe a very clean sound, although that depends on the guitar and, especially, the pickups. Sound 8/10 It's great in terms of sound, that's why I chose it over competitor products, the realism of its sounds. Whatever the guitar I use (Gibson SG standard, Ibanez with EMG 81/60 and Fender Blacktop Telecaster), I can easily get the sounds I want and you can tell the difference according to the pickups (I love the metal sound I get with the EMGs). Overall opinion 8/10 I've been using it for almost two years. It's ideal to play at home, to give or take lessons, it's a true mobile amp. Before buying it, I tested the Roland microcube, but I preferred the vox due to the realism of the sounds. The only negative point may be the fact of not having a true clean sound, without crunch, at high volumes. Small, mobile, full of different sounds, I would buy it again without any problems.

This is basically the same amp as the regular cube but with a few missing and added features. Extremely familiar tone wise but just different ways of achieving that tone. Roland MICRO CUBE RX Compact Guitar Amplifier Features Stereo power amplifiers and four newly developed 4" speakers Eight COSM amps, six digital effects, and chromatic tuner built in Rhythm Guide function for practical rhythm training Stereo aux input for CD/MP3 players, Phones/Recording out Battery driven (6 x AA, maximum 13-hour continuous use) AC adaptor included Compact enclosure with carrying strap UTILIZATION Details Type Solid State Number of Channels 1 Power 5W Speakers 4 x 4" Effects Reverb EQ Tone Amp Modeling Number of Models 8 Preamp Tubes No Tubes Power Tubes No Tubes Inputs 1 x Instrument 1 x Aux (1/4"), 1 x Aux (1/8") Outputs 1 x Rec Out/Headphones (1/4") Footswitch I/O No Effects Loop Height 11.97" Width 11.65" Depth 8.15" Weight 14.11 lbs. SOUNDS What I really love about this amplifier is the ability to plug in your ipod, Mp3 player, or cd player to jam along with your favorite songs. This makes practicing at home so much more fun because it then teaches you to play in time with your favorite bands. I like playing this amp with a Fender Strat or a Charvel guitar. Since the majority of this amp is based off of high gain channels I like to get a lower to medium bodied wood like ash or alder to gt that sizzling grind that is so familiar with 80's metal rock. Another cool thing is how good the effects processor is in this amp. The flanger and delays sound superb. They mix quite well with the metal distortions and extreme distortion. OVERALL OPINION One thing that I absolutely love about this this amp is the recording output. This enables you to go direct with headphones or run straight into a sound mixer. At new these units come in at around $260 which is a steal of a price. I would recommend this amp to anyone who needs a solid practice amp and doesn't want to break the budget. The ability to have a tuber and all the effects you want to go along wit a clean and dirty channel makes it an all in one amp.

This is surprisingly a very cool little practice tool. It has two channels one clean and one overdrive. But here is where this things get very cool. You can plug your CD player of Mp3 player into and jam along within the same amp. It has an AUX input for hooking up your ipod or other device. In addition to those features It has drum beats built in to the amp which allows you to play along with the drum patterns. This is a great device for practicing and staying long with a drummer. I great tool for guitars players to get their timing and chops down before answering a craigslist ad looking for a guitar player. Plus it has a tempo control knob to speed up or slow down the speed of the drum tempo. Vox AC1 RhythmVOX Battery-powered Mini Amp Features at a Glance: * Includes a total of 66 built-in Rhythm/Song Patterns * One extended length additional song pattern * Analog circuitry borrowed from Vox's acclaimed amPlug series * Overdrive switch provides more sonic variation * Accurate and convenient, built-in E-string tuner * Rhythm Section Controls: Pattern Select, Variation Select, Volume knob, Tempo knob * Tempo Range: 40-240 bpm * Amp Section Controls: Gain knob, Tone knob, Volume knob, Overdrive switch * 1/4" input jack * 1/8" aux in jack for jamming along to your favorite tunes using your CD/MP3 player * Headphone out jack lets you concentrate on your playing, without disturbing those around you * Output Power: Maximum approximately 1W RMS into 8 ohms * Speakers: 2 x VOX Original 3" (4 Ohms) * Power Source: 6 x AA batteries or optional AC adapter (not included) * Battery Life: Max. 26 hours (alkaline batteries) UTILIZATION Details Type Solid State Number of Channels 2 Power 1W Speakers 2 x 3" No Reverb EQ Tone No Amp Modelign Number of Models 0 Number of Tubes 0 Preamp Tubes No Tubes Power Tubes No Tubes Inputs 1 x Instrument, 1 x Aux (1/8") Outputs 1 x Headphone No Footswitch I/O No Effects Loop Height 5" Width 6.8" Depth 2.6" Weight 1.12 lbs. SOUNDS The sound of this thing isn't the best. But it does sound good for being what it is built for. Plug whatever guitar you have into this device because it isn't going to give you the greatest tone but this is rather a tool for personal development. The have designed the analog circuitry after the Vox amplugs which are very good for pocket amps. The amplugs sound very good surprisingly. So you have the tone of those preferably the Vox Ac30. Any guitar application this thing is going to help you get stronger as a guitar player. OVERALL OPINION This is the next amps I feel other manufacturers will start to mass produces. These are great practicing tools for developing the skills to play along with perfect timing. I wish I had one of these when I first started playing....I feel I would have developed a lot quicker with my timing. At new these units come in at around $60 which is a steal. I recommend this to anyone trying to get a better handle on their timing and band playing. These are portable and can take headphones for quiet jamming.

The Roland Cube Lite is a small 10 watt stereo practice amp designed to fit almost anywhere. It is made to look like a home stereo speaker to compliment your living room. The connections and knobs are all hidden near the back of the amp so that you can put this on a bookshelf or entertainment system without anyone noticing that you have a guitar amp sitting there. The casing is plastic and there is a soft mesh screen over the speakers. Everything on the amp itself is well-built and comfortable. The knobs are nice and weighted and allow you to control Drive, Volume, Bass, Treble, Chorus, and Reverb. The power source is a "wall wart" of sorts. It takes up a bit of space but gets the job done. UTILIZATION In use, the Cube Lite is a dream. The knobs feel wonderful in your hands when you turn them. This is something that impressed me about the amp because most small practice amps have weak and loose knobs. These feel like you are dialing in a sound on a professional amp or analog synthesizer! There is one 1/4 inch input for your guitar, a special 1/8 inch input for an iPod, and an 1/8 inch output for headphones. The iPod connection is interesting because it allows your amp to communicate (to an extent, it sends and receives a stereo and microphone signal)with an app called "Roland Cube Jam." With this you can slow down audio files and play them back through your amp to help you learn. It also allows you to use the speaker for normal audio playback on your portable music device. The cable for this connection is included with the Cube Lite, though mine broke after some moderate abuse. SOUNDS I use mine with a Godin Multiac guitar and the results are fantastic. The amp is equipped with 3 COSM (Composite object sound modelling) modes that you can cycle through at the click of a button. Which you are using is indicated by a led light above the button. These modes are JC Clean, Crunch, and Extreme. These sound much like the name implies. Clean, Crunch, and Heavy Distortion. They are all super impressive considering the tiny amp. They sound so good I have used them in many recordings in favor of my more expensive guitar rigs. You CAN'T get a better sound from another practice amp, I promise. The sound is perhaps the greatest feature. The loudness perception offered by this amp is equally impressive. As long as you aren't playing with a drummer or guitarist with a half-stack amp, you should have no problems hearing yourself. It's more than enough for practice in your living room. OVERALL OPINION This is a perfect practice amp. You get a fantastic sound for the price. I purchased it for use in music lessons I teach in a small studio and it never made it to a lesson- I loved it so much I kept it at home. I do wish there was a better way to output the sound to my audio interface such as 1/4 inch stereo outputs, but Roland never marketed it to do this so I can't really complain. The unit is small, light, and powerful. If something happened to mine I would replace it with another Cube Lite right away.

The Fender Mini Twin '57 is a reproduction of the iconic dual speaker Fender combo, right down to the classic tweed tolex. However, they decided to shrink this one down to near pocket size. It features a pair of 2 inch speakers, and a very basic control layout with volume, tone, drive and on/off controls. It also features a headphone out, and can be powered by a 9v battery or via an adaptor. It puts out a monstrous 2 watts of power, and unlike its bigger brother this little version of the Twin is solid state as opposed to tube. There's no effects loop or reverbhere so what you see is what you get. UTILIZATION Getting a good tone out of this amp is surprisingly easy. Despite the small size, low power and lack of tonal control, the amp has a very honest sounding tonality that is more real sounding than various other mini amps that I've tried. The tones are fairly biting and aggressive especially with the right guitar driving it. I particularly like setting this amp up for maximum gain and using it with single coils for bluesy or really down-home rock tones. The nice thing about this amp is that it has its own drive control which does allow for more tweaking than some other miniamps out there. SOUNDS At first when I plugged this amplifier in I didn't expect to really hear much that would be appealing. However I instantly bonded with the very gritty and natural tone that this little box has. It is quite dynamic and responds well to both single coil and humbucker pickups. I particularly dig how it breaks up in a more natural way as opposed to sounding harsh or buzzy. The fact that it has more than one speaker helps to bring life into the amp too, which is a good thing for sure. Obviously it isn't going to sound like a full sized Twin but this is a decent little mini rig of its own merrit. OVERALL OPINION All in all I think the Fender Mini Twin '57 is a great little amp for anyone seeking a practice tool, something to travel with, or just a cool sounding novelty amp. At about $50 new you simply can't go wrong if you need a great and naturally cool tone tool. Plus this one's tweed... that's just cool.

There's a lot of battery powered portable amps out there, or at least enough to do some serious comparisons. I own a Lunchbox Jr. and have played several others. The Roland is loud for its size but I wasn't able to use it when traffic noise got too loud in a street performance environment. It's got huge utility for its size with inputs, effects, etc. The battery life is great. What I wanted to write a review for is that it it has tone. The actual sound quality you get from this amp is better than the other battery powered amps I've used. Lunchbox JR. is impressive but it's heavier and has very few options. It does not have the same kind of tone. An Lunchbox Jr. has its own thing but I like the Roland sweetness just as a guitarist. Without any effects I can play through the Roland and it's going to work. I am putting Behringer tube and delay through the LB soon, it's going to be awesome but the Rolands have a little bit of something straight from the factory worth considering. I played with it for hundreds of hours in live street situations, made a good bit of cash using that Roland.https://soundcloud.com/dana-graham-phelps/pier-839-performance-jan-or-feb-2016-7-dana-phelps

I purchased this amp a little over 3 years ago as a beginner guitarist looking for as much diversity as possible when learning and practicing. My tastes in music vary and I wanted something highly versatile when it comes to sound and effects. I play blues, classic rock, hard rock, punk rock, some thrash metal and progressive metal as well, so I searched for a decently priced amp that could give me all the tones and special effects I needed, in one single box. Features The DA5 has a wide range of play styles due to the ‘style’ controller which can cycle through 11 different styles. The styles are comprised of Clean 1, 2 and 3, Blues 1 - these 4 are excellent in tonality and sound, as the name says, they’re quite clean and out of all the available solid state amps the Vox wins without a doubt in this category; Blues 2, 3 and Crunch 1 which try to emulate a slightly overdriven tube amplifier; Crunch 2 and Higain 1, my two personal favorites which offer a rich overdriven distortion type of sound, perfect for hard rock. grunge and punk for example; Then we have Higain 2 which is acceptable for metal in general; Higain 3 which I find too fuzzy and exaggerated and last but not least we have Drive which is a slightly more distorted version of Crunch. Not only does this amp have a rich range in styles, it also provides you with 11 effects which you can also fine tune as much as you want. The effects are not so great, you can’t compare them to actual effect pedals, however Reverb and Delay are actually more than decent and personally, being a fan of Tool I used these extensively during practice. There are other effects such as Chorus and Phaser which I didn’t use much or at all. All of these effects also come in combination of two in case you want to use more than one effect at the same time. The amp also has knobs for adjusting Gain, Tone and Master volume. They all work well and are useful, I just wish the tone knob would offer me individual control over low, mid and high frequencies but at this price that is something I won’t complain about. You would think that’s all that this bundle of joy comes with, but there is more. In the back it comes featured with a power switch so you can select if your amp’s wattage at 0,5 W, 1,5 W and 5W. It also has a line in for a microphone if you want to sing along, it has an auxiliary line in if you want to connect the amp to your computer so you can record, or play music through it while you play along and you can also connect a headphones to it if you want to play at night without disturbing anyone. I also need to mention you can use the amp on batteries for a few hours if you want to play outside. Sound I have tried both a Stratocaster and a Les Paul through this amp, one of them with a Seymour Duncan pickup and I arrived to the conclusion that the difference in sound due to the actual guitar is minimum or even totally unnoticeable. That being said, for a solid state amp this little box can give out quite some decent quality sounds. The clean channels remain clean even at maximum volumes, without sounding distorted, as for the high gain channels you do need to adjust them a bit until you find the sweet spot. Other amps of this level are better when it comes to distortion, but the Vox can’t be beaten when it comes to the clean channel. Add a distortion pedal like the DS1 or anything you want on top of the clean channel and you will have a wonderful range of sounds. Reliability I’ve had this amp for 3 years now and I bought it used from someone who used it for another 2 years. That being said, I haven’t had 1 single problem with this amp…ever. Everything still works impeccably, not even a dent on the casing. Overall impression This little guy was everything I could’ve wanted at that time and even though it’s a solid state amp there is a lot of value for the money spent. It has all the styles and range of effects that you could need as a beginner; it is very reliable, decent sound in general though you might want to invest in a distortion pedal if you want better quality from it. At today’s prices, however, you might want to save a little more money and buy a 5W tube amp instead. At that price it might not come with any effects and special gimmicks but nothing compares to the rich tone of a tube amp.

The Peavey Rage 108 is an older model Peavey amp that was one of their first attempts at a cheap and portable amplifier. It has 2 channels, a shared EQ, and auxiliary and headphone inputs too. It puts out around 10 watts of power and is driven by a single small Peavey driver. There really isn't much to write home about with this amp, it just is what it is. Nothing really remarkable, just what is needed to get the job done. UTILIZATION The amp is not terribly hard to dial in. It certainly doesn't sound stellar by any means, but you can dial it in for some passable tones, though certainly not as good ad the later Peavey Rage amps like the 158. The tones are a bit flat and generic sounding... the transtube technology that was refined on the 158 was simply stellar and had a wonderful tubelike tone. This amp just seems to sound very small and compressed, making the tones a bit more lifeless to my ears. SOUNDS This amp doesn't sound all that great when pitted against more modern practice amps that either off a better tone or more features. This model has two channels, the clean sounding very stiff and boring... no sparkle or life there, and the drive channel which has hints of sounding decent but overall it's just got a certain buzziness and harsh quality that makes it unpleasant to play through. The EQ doesn't really do a whole lot of justice to changing the tone, and the small speaker really just makes the amp sound too boxy. OVERALL OPINION All in all I think there are better choices out there than this amp. It doesn't offer much in the features department and the tones are pretty mediocre at best. Peavey later released the Rage 158 which is far superior to this amp and can be had for probably close to the same price. I would stay away from this amp... there are better options out there.

The Fender Amp Can is one of the myriad attempts by companies to offer a portable "on the go" type of amplifier for travel, playing outdoors, small gigs, etc. These have ranged from downright tiny battery powered mini amplifiers that hook onto the waist to the many different "lunchbox" amp heads designed for small gigs. The Fender Amp Can was introduced as a bigger and more practical counterpart to the mini amps. It puts out 15w of power, has separate sections for guitar and microphones and is able to run on battery or wall power. It contains one speaker and a unique can shaped enclosure that allows for tiltback too. UTILIZATION Getting a good tone out of this amplifier isn't terribly difficult. It is laid out with very basic controls that don't really counteract, making setup a breeze. It has separate inputs for guitar and mics which also means separate sections for each. This is handy if you are a singer who wants to be accompanied by a guitar all in one unit. It's not terribly loud but it would work for smaller background events such as a party or coffeehouse. It sounds pretty good too considering the size and shape too. SOUNDS I've used this amp with various guitars in smaller gig situations. The guitar channel has a decent sounding clean tone that, while not remarkable, does a decent job with both electric and acoustic electric guitars. The drive channel is reasonable sounding and I don't mind it for certain rock or blues tones. It has a bit of a tendency to feed back at higher gain settings but that's the trade off with these small amps sometimes. The mic channel is very flat... great for a speaker but it tends to muffle vocals a bit too much for my liking. OVERALL OPINION All in all I think the Fender Amp Can is a cool and certainly eye catching portable amp for travel and small gigs. They sound decent and are fairly light too. They sold new for about $200 which is a decent deal considering the features. Definitely worth a look if you need a cool little portable amp.

This little lunch box amp has packed quite a punch. These lunch box amps have been making a huge impact on the amp market as of the last ten years. Every manufacturer seems to be pushing their own version of a lightweight compact combo amp that is used for recording and jam practicing. This little lunch box amp has some great tones to it. The cleans are nice and sparkly and the distortion is rather thick and meaty. The tone from this amp is a bit surprising. It has such a good tonal character that it makes playing the guitar fun. You can sit around and jam on this thing all day. Also run the output directly in to a PA or recording booth for bypassed cab operation. Roland Micro Cube-W Amplifier Features: 2-watt amp with 5" speaker Seven COSM amp models and six DSP effects Digital Tuning Fork handles flat tunings Connect CD player of other line-level source to play along Recording/headphone output Includes carrying strap UTILIZATION Details Type Solid State Number of Channels 1 Power 2W Speakers 1 x 5" Effects Reverb EQ Tone Amp Modeling Yes Number of Models 7 Preamp Tubes No Tubes Power Tubes No Tubes Inputs 1 x Instrument 1 x Aux (1/4"), 1 x Aux (1/8") Outputs 1 x Rec Out/Headphones (1/4") No Footswitch No Effects Loop Height 8.9" Width 9.6" Depth 6.54" Weight 7.28 lbs. SOUNDS This tiny amp have such a usable tone and feel that it is hard to believe that its a 2 watt solid state amp. I like this amp with just about any guitar you throw at it. My personal preference is a Fender Stratocaster or a a superstrat of some kind. I like the note separation and clarity of the light to medium bodied woods. I find that it gives the thick tone some transparency and fuller tone. You can by all means use a Gibson Les Paul with this guitar but I like the Strats for this amp. OVERALL OPINION This might be the best amp in this price range. At new these amps come in at around $130, which isn't a bad price for something this resourceful. I like the price on it and the fact that you can run direct into a PA system. My only beef with this unit is that it has this thing called the tuning fork which is basically what it says. Not an actual digital tuner so you'll need to get your tuning ear out and polish off that ear for real tuning like back in the old days.

Having just reviewed a really bad portable amp, I feel compelled to give kudos to a product that figured it out. The Pignose 7-100 is a portable guitar amp. It is powered by 6 AA batteries, or the optional AC adaptor. There is one 1/4" input and a pre-amp out jack, which can be useful in some recording and stage sessions (by running the pre-amp out signal to the PA, or to a DAW via the console. There is a knob for volume only, but trust me, the tone is solid. The amp has 5 watts of power. UTILIZATION This is simply used for practicing for the vast majority of its users. In this case, the amp is one of the easiest ones to use that I've seen. The manual is pretty uncessary overall. You can attach a guitar strap to it to carry it around your neck, which is really sweet if you are carrying your guitar in your hand and want a free hand. The pre-amp out jack is cool, I don't use it much but I know that some people have gotten great studio sounds with it. I think that's SOUNDS Don't look at the 5-star score and assume this thing sounds amazing. It doesn't. It's just that for a portable five watt amp, you can really not do better. I'm convinced to this day that there isn't a better sounding amp that you can wear around your neck. The volume knob will adjust gain to a necessary degree. I like all the sounds equally. This is a practice amp that will actually make you sound good when you practice, which is a surprising rarity once you reach a certain level of playing. There really is no control of the EQ, so asking about the frequency curve is somewhat difficult to answer. I would say that they are pretty neutral in that they don't ever favor one end of the spectrum over the other. OVERALL OPINION I don't really have much to say other than this is a pretty cool device. I'd say that overall, this is worth it for whoever would benefit from having a quiet amplifier that's easy to carry around. The sound is better than anything you'll find in amps this size, and even a few sizes bigger to be honest. Highly recommended.

(Originally written by chevaliernoir/translated from Audiofanzine FR) 30-watt solid-state amp. The synthetic leather covering gives it a very nice vintage look. 3-band EQ Its main advantage is that it works with a lead battery. So you can play for hours without AC connection. The amp is provided with a big external battery charger. UTILIZATION The fact that the controls are placed on the bottom instead of the top is a real problem. It isn't an issue when it's on top of a table but it's very annoying when it's on the floor. The battery has a very long life. It has happened several times that I forget the charger at home when I take it to rehearsals and the battery life was long enough to finish the rehearsal. The speaker efficiency and output power easily allow you to play it with other acoustic instruments. My dream was to play on a hill under a tree with some friends playing acoustic guitar and djembe. The HOG30 made this dream come true. SOUNDS Very good sound. I use it with an electric bass and the sound is ok although its totally different from a big bass amp. I connected an MP3 player once and the sound was awful. So this amp doesn't sound flat at all. I use it for bass guitar and that's it. It suits my needs perfectly. OVERALL OPINION This product has no competitor if you want to play without an electric generator (at least none that I know of). Thanks to its generous battery this product is perfect for that. I don't regret this purchase and I recommend it. If you are going to play someplace where you have access to AC outlets you'd better buy something else (and thus you would avoid carrying a heavy battery with you).